Common features include one wall with a zipper to allow passage once all walls have been lowered and secured in place, a screen for movie projection and hanging storage shelves. In the heart of the Ozarks’ wilderness, a passion for exploration was kindled. This space serves as an homage to that undying spirit of adventure and as a community for those inspired by Ozark ozark trail instant cabin Trail’s commitment to crafting reliable outdoor gear.
It uses high-quality materials such as aluminum poles, breathable mesh, and water-resistant polyester fabric, and it comes with a full fly and a footprint. The Tungsten 4’s larger size ozark trail instant cabin accounts for the higher price tag (about $40 more), but campers who would like that extra room may find the expense worthwhile. The Kelty Wireless 6 is a spacious tent that is easy to pitch, and it offers solid weather protection and durability for a reasonable price. Like the Mineral King 3, it has a simple, dome-style design that maximizes livability and minimize headaches. With 87 square feet of interior space, plus 28 square feet of vestibule space, the polyester tent fits four adults comfortably, or two adults with two or three children, with plenty of room to store gear and muddy boots. (As its name indicates, it’s meant to house six people, but we wouldn’t recommend that.) The Wireless 6 has two large doors and a full rain fly.
If you don’t have time to let the fly dry before you pack the Wireless in its duffle, we recommend laying it out when you get home so it doesn’t mildew in storage. One night during testing, for example, clouds loomed in the distance with clear skies overhead. After we pitched the tent, the Mineral King 3’s adaptable fly let us leave half the mesh dome uncovered. At the first sign of rain, it took only a few seconds—and a quick hand stuck outside the tent—to unfurl the fly and secure it for a dry night’s sleep. When we awoke, we could roll back one part of the vestibule, make coffee, and watch the sky lighten even though it was still raining. To test the tents, ozark trail canopy tent we first opened them, splayed out their parts, and tried to put them together without consulting the instructions.
The angled legs add a bit more stability than straight-leg tents which we also like, but the design reduces the top canopy to 8’x8′ dimensions resulting in only 64 sq. The plastic foot pads are a nice touch that you don’t often see on value-priced tents and they do a good job of protecting the bottom of the legs from wear and tear. Similar to nearly every 10×10 shade canopy under $100, the legs utilize metal insta-lock push buttons that are not the most user friendly. With this feature there is always a need to worry about rusted metal thumb locks that become impossible to push in over time. Cheap tents generally tend to forego a lot of these nice-to-have features that make canopy tent life easier during set up, and unfortunately this one is no different. In terms of how the two tents feel, the Marmot Tungsten 4 is more geared toward hunkering down and providing stalwart defense against wind, rain, and sun.
Like our couples’ tent pick, the Wireless 6 is a dome-shaped tent with a tried and true two-pole design. It has an interior footprint of 87 square feet, which sleeps four adults on single pads, or two adults and two or three children, and can accommodate a crib. That wasn’t the tallest we encountered—the Eureka Copper Canyon LX 6 and the Alps Mountaineering Camp Creek 6 each topped out at 7 feet—but it’s enough space for most adults to maneuver standing up. The tent comes with a full rain fly that adds two vestibules for storage (each 14 square feet), totaling 115 square feet of livable space—which is fairly generous yet still practical for most campsites. Car campers who plan to brave miserable weather will appreciate the extra strength and protection of the REI Co-op Base Camp 4 Tent.
Coleman says that the tent doesn’t need one, probably because its floor is a crinkly (though tough) tarp-like polyethylene, not a taped-seam polyester as in our other picks. A full rain fly with easy-attach color-coded clips covers the tent body and adds two large vestibules. Like the Mineral King 3, the Tungsten has aluminum poles that are connected at the top (for lightning-quick pitching) and pre-bent, which increases the dome tent’s headroom. And this tent is easy to set up and pack down, especially considering its size.